Railway-tie and rail-clamp.



J. F. HAWLEY.

RAILWAY TIE AND RAIL CLAMPm APPLICATION man SEPT. 13. m5.

Patented Mar. 7; 1916.

RAILWAY-TIE RAILE-CLAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 7,1916.

Application filed September 13, 1915 Serial lilo. 5(1420.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN F. HAwLnY, a citizenof the United States, residing at Chillicothe, in the county ofLivingston and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Railway- Ties and Rail-Clamps, of which the following isa specification.

This invention contemplates an improved railway tie and clamp and has todo particularly with improvements in the construction disclosed in mypending application filed June 15, 1915, Serial No. 32,352.

The invention has as its primary ob ect to provide a hollow tie whichmay be formed of steel, a composition, or any other suitable materialand having integral abutments adapted to rigidly support the rails andtalso provide webs or anchoring members ntegral with the abutments anddepending into the body of the tie to adjustably receive clampingmembers arranged to cooperate with the said ,abutments in engaging therails.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the tie that theanchoring members will be inwardly spaced from the ends of the tie sothat the adjustable connections of the clamping members will beprotected by the body of the tie.

The invention has as a further object, in this connection, to so formthe tie that the adjustable connections of the clamping members will bereadily accessible, And a still further object of the invention is toprovide an improved form of clamp ng member which may be constructed asa single casting but which will, nevertheless, be adapted to yield whenengaged with a rail to thus efiiciently perform its function.

Other and incidental objects will appear as the description proceeds andin the drawings wherein I have illustrated the preferred embodiment .ofthe invention and wherein similar reference characters designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tie constructed in accordance withthe present invention showing the manner in which the tie is adapted toreceive the rails and also illustrating the manner in which the clampingmembers are adapted to engage the rails, Fig. 2 is a fragmentaryhorizontal sectional view showing the adjustable mounting of theclamping members upon the tie and particularly illustrating the mannerin which the tie is formed to provide abutments for the rails as well asthe anchoring members associated therewith, Fig. 3 is a similar viewshowing a slightly modified form of tie and the manner in which theclamping member of the present invention may be used in connectiontherewith.

The tie of the present invention includes ody portion 0 sub tan ia lyrec a gular 1 c os -se ti n and whi h, a p viou ly in imated, m y be frme o t el, a co position, or any other suitable material. '1 he bodyportion .of the tie is hollow providing side walls 11' having outwardlydiverging inner fac a d l s n he ttom o t tie is a bottom wall 12.Formed on the upper side of the tie adjacent opposite exiti s e of, arep andi g utments 13 w ch are P en e o ar a h eth r and are provided withconvex upper faces, Preferably, the abutments extend from side t Sid f eody on Of h ie and are undercut to receive the base flanges of the a lsc ve i llv h wn a 14 w th t s id a utm t enga the eb 0f the ails po thouter ide ereof. na- P e' nto the dv of th t and in gral with theabllfiments 13, are transversely extending webs or anchoring members 14Lwhich a ppo ends, a e s int gral with the side walls 11 of the tie. Itwill be noted that the abutments are inwardly spaced from the ends ofthe tie and preferably project downwardly from the outer extreinities ofthe abutments. These anchorns memb s, in bei g nteg al t he abntmentsand with the sides of the tie, ill be ri i ly s pported and in h can'-necti it is point d out that t e a ho i g members will providetransversely extendbraces for the side walls of the tie and will thusmaterially contribute to the rigidity and durability of the tiestructure. Formed the upper side of the tie at the outer ends of theabutments 13, are transversely extending openings 15.

Formed in the upper side of the tie adjacent the inner sides of theabutments 13 are longitudinally extending slots or openings 16 andfitted through the said slots are clamping members 17. Each of theseclam-ping members is preferably formed as a single casting .of suitableresilient metal and includes a shank 18 from one extremity of whichextends a flattened reduced neck 19 arranged at substantially rightangles to the shank. Formed on the upper extremity of the neck is alaterally enlarged head 20 connected with the neck by a portionextending laterally therefrom in the direction with the shank 18. Asmost clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the clamping members aremounted upon the tie with the necks 19 thereof freely received withinthe slots 16 and with the heads 20 fitting over the base flanges of therails upon the inner sides thereof and hearing against the inner facesof the rail webs. The anchoring members 14 are provided with suitableopenings which freely receive the shanks 18 of the clamping members andscrew threaded upon the outer extremities of the said shanks are nuts21. In any instance where the clamping members are to be used at a jointbetween the meeting ends of adjacent rails, the heads thereof areprovided with projecting studs 22 received in suitable openings formedin the rail webs. Otherwise, these studs may be eliminated.

It will now be noted that the clamping members are adjustably connectedto the anchoring members It and by properly turning the nuts 21, theheads 20 of the clamping members may be brought into binding engagementwith the rail webs to cooperate with the abutments 13. In thisconnection, particular attention is directed to the fact that thereduced necks 19 of the clamping members provide relatively yieldableelements interposed between the shanks of the clamping members and theheads 20, adapted to yield under the binding influence of the nuts 21and consequently, resiliently urge the heads of the clamping membersagainst the rail webs. Thus, any wear will be taken up by the clampingmembers, while the said members will also act to eliminate vibration.

The purpose in rigidly supporting the anchoring members 14 will now beapparent since the normal tension upon the clamping members 17 will becommunicated directly to these anchoring members as will also any strainupon the clamping members caused by rolling stock passing over therails. The anchoring members are so ar ranged that the nuts 21 of theclamping members will be disposed immediately oppo site the openings 15in the upper side of the tie so that while the tie body will provide anefficient protection or housing for the said nuts, still, access throughthe said openings may be easily had to the nuts for the purpose ofremoval or adjustment.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings, I have shown a slight modification in thepresent construction which relates more particularly to the tiestructure. In this modification, the anchoring members 23 are formedflush with the ends of the tie and the necessity for the openings 15disclosed in connection with the preferred form of the invention is thuseliminated since the nuts 21 of the clamping members will alsoconsequently be disposed at the ends of the tie where they will bereadily accessible. In this connec tion, it should be stated that theshanks of the clamping members when used in connection with this form oftie will be slightly longer than is necessary in the form of theinvention previously described. In this modification, the body of thetie is provided with integral abutments 24 which are some- H whatdifferent in cross-sectional outline from the abutments of the preferredform of the invention, the abutments 24 being somewhat reduced to fitagainst the outer sides of the rails and conforming more closely to thegeneral contour of the heads of the clamping members. Otherwise theconstruction shown in this modification is identical with that of thepreferred form of the invention, and a further description thereof willaccordingly not be given.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In a device of the character described, a railway tie including abody portion provided with an upstanding abutment, an anchoring membercarried by the body portion, and a clamping member associated with theanchoring member and including a shank having a yieldable neck extendingtherefrom and provided with a head adapt- 10 ed to engage a rail seatingagainst said abutment.

2. In a device of the character described, a railway tie including abody portion provided with an upstanding abutment, an an- 105 choringmember carried by the body portion, and a clamping member associatedwith the anchoring member and including a shank having a reducedyieldable neck extending therefrom and provided with a head 110 adaptedto engage the web of a rail seating against said abutment with theabutment engaging the rail web opposite to said head.

8. In a device of the character described, a railway tie including abody portion pro- 115 vided with an upstanding abutment, an anchoringmember carried by the body portion, and a clamping member associatedwith the anchoring member and including a shank and a head yieldablyconnected to the 120 shank by a neck with the neck supporting the headin position to engage a rail seating against said abutment.

4. In a device of the character described, a' railway tie having sidewalls and a top 125 wall closing one extremity of the tie upon its upperside, an upstanding abutment carried by the tie, an anchoring memberdepending between the side walls, there being an opening formed in thetop wall in spaced 130 relation to the said extremity of the tie andcontiguous to said abutment, a clamping member carried by the anchoringmember and adapted to engage a rail seated upon the tie to confront saidabutment, and means connecting the clamping member with the anchoringmember and accessible through said opening, the said means beingdisposed in spaced relation to the opening and housed within the closedextremity of the tie.

5. In a device of the character described, a railway tie having top andside walls, an upstanding abutment carried by the tie, an anchoringmember depending from one extremity of the abutment between the sidewalls, a clamping member carried by the anchoring member and adapted toengage a rail seated upon the tie to confront said abutment with theanchoring member disposed in spaced relation upon one side of the baseof the rail, and means connecting the clamping member with the anchoringmember, the said means being housed within the tie and protected by thetop wall thereof.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

JOHN F. HAWLEY. [L.S.]

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner oIIPatents,

Washington, D. 0.

